“Tune in and hop out with New Belgium Citradelic. Set adrift on a kaleidoscopic wave of hoppiness brought to you by a mystical marriage of Citra hops and tangerine peel, which elevates each sip onto a plane of pure tropical, fruity pleasure. Citradelic’s namesake hop and fruit combine to jam with visions of additional hops like citrusy Mandarina Bavaria, tropical Azzaca, and fruity Galaxy for a colorful explosion that’s grounded by just a touch of malty sweetness. Bored by the status quo? Expand your palate with a pour of Citradelic.”
Served in an IPA glass. The appearance offers a bright amber glow with remarkable clarity. A thumb of white head forms on top which retains well and weaves a fine lace down the walls of the glass.
It seems brewing with fresh fruits is the new craze at the moment and with interesting aromas like this it’s obvious why! Big presence of tangy tangerine wafting out here. It actually has a distinct jaffa-like accent with an undertone of chocolate being picked up. There’s something a bit artificial about it though, very sweet like they’ve added crystallized sugars. Either way it’s a fairly nice aroma.
The mouth feel is light and kind of gelatinous in texture. Quite mild in Co2. Also very light in body with a restrained 50 IBU. Super smooth but we would have liked a bit more punch from the bitterness.
Very sweet and sugary take on tangerine upfront. That somewhat artificial character we were getting on the nose also comes on strong in flavour. We’re getting suggestions of jaffa as well which carries through to the delicate finish. Nice duration with mandarin and candied orange notes on the back palate.
We’re not really seeing what all the hype is about here. Very one-dimensional and a little too artificial for our liking. More focus on the IPA characters with the addition of tangerine would have been much more palatable. Slightly disappointing.